


Kingling

by QueenCoeurl



Series: AH Destiny AU [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Game), Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Blood, Body Horror, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Language, Parasites, ah destiny au, destiny au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:34:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenCoeurl/pseuds/QueenCoeurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the house of Wolves revolt, Fireteam AH is divided once more. Cue Oryx’s arrival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kingling

 Jack rested his elbows on the railing overlooking the city below. He sighed and closed his eyes enjoying the wind gust and churn around him. The Tower felt lonely these days. Geoff was spending almost all of his time with the Speaker. Ray was absorbed in the crucible. Michael was too busy keeping Gavin alive, while Gavin was on a revenge fueled quest to kill every last Fallen. And Ryan, well, Jack had stopped visiting Ryan a while ago.

 

 He hadn’t wanted to abandon Ryan again, but he was getting difficult to be around and gave off a strong aura of not wanting Jack around either. He hadn’t said anything of the kind to Jack, but Jack could feel how uncomfortable Ryan became when he visited.

 

 The worst part was that when the House of Wolves had turned on the Queen, and they had rallied their full team of six together once again, Jack had let himself hope that they would remain together afterwards. The Lads had gone and hunted down Skolas, while the Gents worked with the Queen to track down and eliminate the bulk of Skolas’ forces.

 

 The Fallen betrayal had really done a number on Gavin. Never before had anyone seen him so filled with a burning passion for revenge. He may have never been the most careful of Guardians but he became downright reckless. He threw himself at the enemy without care for injury or his life, and it fell to Michael and Ray to keep him alive.

 

 Now Skolas was dead; slain by the Lads within the Prison of Elders. Yet Gavin was still not satisfied. Convinced that those that had once served Skolas still remained, he set off to find and kill them all. Ray wished him luck and left for the Trials and Iron Banner, but Michael was far too worried about Gavin to do the same.

 

 Geoff returned to the Speaker, and Ryan left again to the moon.

 

 Jack had tried to spend time with Geoff, but Geoff seemed to do nothing but meditate for hours on end. When Jack did manage to catch Geoff aware, their conversations never lasted. Geoff seemed as if his mind was elsewhere and conversation fell short. When he did respond it was never a straight answer, and Jack wanted to blame the Speaker for that.

 

 So Jack had then begun taking trips to the moon to visit Ryan. They had neglected him before and he had used that time alone to crown himself the leader of the Hive; Ryan had been ready to cut all ties with the Vanguard and his team.

 

 Jack would never dare say it, but the House of Wolves revolt had felt like a blessing in disguise. It forced them to once again work together, and pulled Ryan out of his lunar necropolis.

 

 He had visited Ryan frequently at first. Every time he had a patrol on the moon he made sure to seek out Ryan. The visits became less frequent over time, and now Jack was in a place where he debated whether he wanted to ever return to the moon again.

 

 It hurt too much.

 

 Seeing his friend transform like he did – to watch him become something more Hive than Awoken – it physically pained Jack.

 

 When they had first found Ryan after Crota’s death there had been months of silence and they had believed Ryan dead. Imagine their shock to see him alive and in command of Crota’s forces. Even then Ryan’s physical changes had been striking; hair and skin stained black and grey, those solid glowing green eyes like that of any Acolyte or Knight, the ability to screech like any Wizard… Jack would never have believed that it could go any further.

 

 He was wrong.

 

 The Hive was making Ryan one of its own and Jack was powerless to stop it. In fact, he was sure Ryan would fight him if he ever did try and so much as suggest ‘saving’ him.

 

 Last time he had visited Ryan had been almost two weeks ago. Ryan had been more of a mess than usual. The man chattered and clicked to himself quietly in the Hive language. Snarling at subordinates his three green eyes were open wide and constantly searching for something. He was twitchy, jumpy, and seemed almost feral in his movements.

 

 Jack had asked him what was wrong but Ryan didn’t seem able to answer without falling back into the Hive language. Whatever it was, it was clear that Ryan wasn’t the only member of the Hive feeling it. They were all acting extremely agitated. They had even begun fighting amongst themselves again; something that Jack had believed to be over when Ryan filled the authoritative void left by Crota.

 

 His visit had ended when an Acolyte had charged Ryan in attack. Unarmed the two of them had fought while Jack called his gun from storage. By the time Jack had his scout rifle armed Ryan had already subdued the Acolyte. Green Hive magic enveloped Ryan’s arms as he shrieked in victory. His voice echoed far throughout the caverns on the moon. With a final snarl he stomped down on the Acolyte’s head crushing it to dust.

 

 Jack had excused himself at that and transported himself back to his ship. It was clear the moon was becoming dangerous once more.

 

 Most of all Jack felt incredibly guilty. It was clear Ryan was losing his control of the Hive, and it was unknown why. Yet here was Jack at the tower and not at Ryan’s side to help him with this development.

 

 The Hive had worshipped Ryan, why would they suddenly turn on him? What had them all so uncomfortable and – Jack hated to think this – afraid? The Hive had worshipped Crota as a god and had feared his power, then along had come Fireteam AH. They had killed Crota, and Ryan having been the one to wield the sword that had dealt the final blow was suddenly more powerful than a Hive god. The Hive then began to fear Ryan, and when Ryan learned of his power over them, he was quick to see the opportunity it presented. He quickly became their new god; one more powerful and more respected than Crota.

 

 So what would the Hive fear more than Ryan? Something that seemed to have Ryan frightened as well.

 

 Jack was snapped back to the present by a transmission from Geoff.

 

 “Jack, Vanguard picked up a distress signal from a Cabal base on Phobos. We need to shut it down before it reaches the empire and figure out what has those fat bastards so worked up. It’s me and you bud, and we’re leaving ASAP!” Geoff ordered through Jack’s ghost.

 

 Jack was eager for the distraction.

~*~

 Ryan had been flattered to learn that there were still Hive loyal to him. They called themselves “The Blood of Rynwuld” and Ryan feared they would all get themselves killed or worse. He’d never been faced with something like this; Oryx could take the very will of any living thing and make it his own. Even the Vex were not immune to this power.

 

 Ryan had evacuated everyone he could when Oryx had announced his arrival and desire for vengeance against those who had killed Crota. Now he and his loyal few were hidden within the moon. They had collapsed tunnels and destroyed entryways to further deter anyone who would seek them out.

 

 That didn’t hinder Oryx’s Taken. Physical space was no limitation for them, and Ryan was steadily losing soldiers. The worst part was that those that were not killed only ended up as Taken themselves and returned to battle on the enemy’s side. At least the regular Hive that were loyal to Oryx were having trouble finding him.

 

 He didn’t even want to know how the Vanguard was handling the situation. Ryan’s access to transmissions and communications had been drastically limited but he still knew of the Queen’s defeat at the hands of Oryx’s fleet. That had been a major blow, and one that had almost broken Ryan. He wouldn’t allow himself to ask whether Gavin, Michael, and Lindsay had been among the wreckage. He had responsibility to his Hive, and had to keep them and himself alive. That meant he didn’t have time to mourn or worry; he had to act.

 

 To show weakness was to die. That was the way of the Hive.

 

 Most of all he doubted the Vanguard’s ability to deal with this new threat. At least they had Eris to stop them from doing something stupid.

 

 Ryan smiled sadly; Eris would keep them alive, if only they finally decided to listen to what she had to say.

 

 He hated to admit it, but the Vanguard was weak. In truth all of this system’s defenses were weak. Not for lack of trying, but simply because of how divided they were. The Reef served its own and had been defeated. The Vanguard were slow to act and hesitant to cooperate with other factions. The leaders even squabbled between themselves forcing others to act in secret.

 

 Then there was Rasputin; no one knew what his deal was, and there was no way to effectively communicate with him.

 

 What Earth and Sol needed more than anything was a united front: one army, one decision maker that could act quickly and effectively. Had they acted as one cohesive force Oryx would have probably been already dead.

 

 Ryan sighed, maybe that was too optimistic, but at least Oryx’s fleet would have been destroyed. Unfortunately, there was no chance of such cooperation happening if it hadn’t already. Ryan knew the Vanguard’s stubbornness all too intimately.

 

 The sharpest sword was useless if there was no arm strong enough to wield it.

 

  _We are not doomed._ Ryan’s worm picked up on his thoughts.

 

 Ryan scoffed at that. It would be a great thing to believe, wouldn’t it? He dropped himself down to sit on a mound of Hive barnacles in the near perfect darkness.

 

  _You believe that all they need is a leader. Become who they need and they will follow._ His worm suggested.

 

 That made Ryan burst out into harsh laughter. _That’s not how human politics work, little worm, but I appreciate your optimism._

_Then make them follow!_ His worm insisted.

 

Ryan shook his head; there were some things the Hive would never understand. To them might made right and they just couldn’t understand why anyone would believe otherwise.

 

 He felt his worm shift position but it remained without retort.

 

 Ryan exhaled and leaned back against black stone. He closed his eyes. All they could do was wait for any news, any opportunity to strike back, and until such a time came they just had to remain hidden. It was moments like this that Ryan was grateful he still had his ghost. It was up near the surface intercepting all the comms it could and relaying them down. A single ghost was far less likely to be noticed by Oryx than a full Hive receiver set up.

 

 “We’re so fucked.” Ryan muttered and rubbed his two human eyes while opening his third. He spoke in English so as to not have one of his Hive overhear – a leader had to be confident.

 

 The third eye had been difficult to adjust to, but in the end it really was convenient. It was just as sensitive and perceptive as either of his main eyes and gave him a much taller line of sight. In the caves and tunnels it was only a benefit, but on the surface it had him mostly staring at sky. At least he’d never miss a shooting star or cool looking cloud again.

 

 That’s if he didn’t die in these caverns.

~*~

 “GAVIN DID WHAT?!” Geoff screamed at Cayde-6. He had raced to the Vanguard with Jack in tow the instant he had heard the announcement.

 

 Cayde-6 put his hands out in a calming gesture while shrugging, “That guardian’s got balls, what can I say?”

 

 “You sent him alone! In secret!” Geoff was overheating in his rage, “He could have fucking died!”

 

 “But he didn’t.” Cayde pointed at Geoff, “And now thanks to him we have a beacon on Oryx’s Dreadnaught. He disabled his weapons and gave us an in. He’s a hero.”

 

 It took Geoff’s entire will not to grab the Hunter Vanguard by his cloak.

 

 Jack put his hand firmly on Geoff’s shoulder to hold him back if his will should break, “I’m not happy either, but we now have a direct path to Oryx.”

 

 “Where is Gavin?” Geoff asked.

 

 “He should be back at the tower any moment. Promise me you won’t give him too hard a time, alright?” Cayde answered.

 

 Geoff was immediately off towards the main area of the tower and Jack had to hurry to remain on his heels.

 

 “That fucking idiot– What is it with Awoken, huh? They have no fucking sense of self-preservation do they?! Fuck him and his fucking heroics; he’s not the only one hurt by the Queen’s defeat!” Geoff spat his words in anger knowing Jack would be listening.

 

 Jack huffed, “Nothing but a bunch of heroes that end up getting themselves hurt. That’s our job description right there. Like you wouldn’t have done the same if Cayde had asked you instead.”

 

 “Not Gavin, never Gavin. Especially with the Queen missing.” Geoff argued, “Michael’s enough of a mess as it is, what would he do if he lost Gavin as well? What would **we** do?!” Geoff made a choked noise, “And with Ray…” he stopped himself.

 

 “Ray made his decision, and we need to respect it. He wasn’t wrong in calling us a shit magnet. I can fully understand why he would decide to leave our fireteam. It wasn’t easy for him either.” Jack felt like defending everyone had somehow become his job.

 

 “It will never be the same. We’re two members down, and I can’t lose anyone else. I can’t, Jack.” Geoff shook his head.

 

 “They’re not dead, Geoff!” Jack chided him.

 

 “You’re right, it’s worse.” Geoff responded.

 

 That angered Jack, but any reply he had was cut short by Gavin’s arrival.

 

 Gavin had barely finished teleporting in when Geoff charged forward and punched him square in the jaw.

 

 Gavin exclaimed in surprise and pain, “Geoff, wot–?”

 

 Geoff grabbed Gavin and tightly pulled him close, “Don’t ever do something so fucking stupid again, you fucking moron!”

 

 Gavin returned the embrace less aggressively, “It worked, dinnit?” He smiled and there was blood on his teeth.

 

 “Yeah you’re a fucking hero now.” Geoff let go of him and punctuated the word ‘hero’ by pushing Gavin’s shoulder.

 

 “It’s a straight road to Oryx now. We grab what we need then go and hand that Hive bastard his own arse on a platter.” Gavin was ready to make Oryx pay for what he had done to the Reef. The Queen was still missing, but Gavin was sure she was still alive somewhere, she had to be.

 

 Jack also embraced Gavin, “Maybe we should think this through a bit more; we don’t even really know what we’re pitting ourselves against here.” He released the hunter.

 

 “We don’t have the time, Jack. Now that Oryx is open to us and we know where he is, it’s only a matter of time before he rebuilds his defenses. We strike now or not at all!” Gavin explained.

 

 Geoff sighed but nodded, “I hate that you’re right, but you’re right.”

 

 “Should we get Michael in on this as well? We will probably want everyone we can get.” Jack suggested.

 

 “We have several Guardians holding the Breach, so the four of us should be enough to dive deeper into the Dreadnaught and corner him.” Gavin informed them.

 

 “Alright, let’s call Michael back from his Mars patrol and get ready to go.” Geoff decided.

 

~*~

 The four of them landed on the Dreadnaught and immediately broke into a sprint. They had to make it through the Cabal and Hive firefight as quick as possible to minimize injury. Jack threw down grenades to help clear their path and soon they were in the tunnel carved by the crashed Cabal warship. The sudden quiet gave them time for a quick breather and they continued forward at a more cautious pace.

 

 They were silent and fully focused on the task at hand as they entered the cathedral-like space known only as the Mausoleum. Another firefight was already underway between Hive and Cabal forces, but it appeared as if the Hive had the upper hand in this battle. They were pushing the Cabal back into their ship with heavy fire.

 

 “Gavin, what next?” Michael asked as he scanned the area to see if any enemies had noticed their presence.

 

 Gavin pointed to what looked like an altar overlooking a chasm where the floor of the room dropped away into an abyss, “There. That portal will take us to the bridge where Oryx is. We just need to figure out how activate it, and then jump through.”

 

 “How do we acti–” Jack stopped his question as the portal opened with a flash of green light.

 

 “That was too easy.” Geoff warned.

 

 “Look!” Michael spotted a figure jumping up to the platform where the portal stood.

 

 The figure looked like a unique Hive but moved like a Warlock. Masses of Thrall began to pour from the portal. The figure threw down a void vortex grenade and began to open fire at the Hive.

 

 “It’s a bloody guardian!” Gavin exclaimed, and rushed forward to aid in culling the Thrall.

 

 Jack launched himself forward and readied his own grenades, “Guys, it’s Ryan! RYAN!” He put two and two together.

 

 The figure heard Jack and switched their frequency so that they could communicate, “Guys! What the fuck? What are you doing here?!” Ryan’s concerned voice came through their helmets.

 

 Geoff was the first to respond as he fired at the Thrall, “What are WE doing here?! What are YOU doing here?!”

 

 “I’m here to kill Oryx!” Ryan shouted and jumped out of the reach of the Thralls’ claws, “I heard the Dreadnaught was breached so I took advantage of it.”

 

 “Wait, so you want Oryx dead too?” Geoff was surprised.

 

 If only they could see the glare Ryan gave Geoff at that question, “Why the fuck wouldn’t I?!!”

 

 “Isn’t he like technically your god or something?” Michael had the same train of thought as Geoff.

 

 Ryan launched a nova bomb. He may have no longer had any Light, but the Darkness fed his powers well enough.

 

 “WHAT?!” Ryan almost shrieked the word, “In case you idiots missed the memo, I’m kind of number one on the bastard’s shit list! We killed his fucking son! Also what the fuck?! Do you honestly think I’m pious enough to worship anything? Never mind some self-proclaimed almighty Hive?”

 

 That silenced them.

 

 Ryan changed the subject, “If we want to get to Oryx we need to thin out these Thralls and jump through that portal. They won’t stop coming until the portal closes, so we need to be quick.”

 

 Michael nodded. He cracked his knuckles and then slammed down a fist of havoc right in the midst of the Thralls.

 

 “Now!” Ryan ordered and leapt through the green light of the portal. With a roll he landed on the dusty floor of a grand hallway not unlike most of the halls on the Dreadnaught. At the end of the hall was a rounded room filled with Hive pods.

 

 “Alright, now we just–” Ryan turned around.

 

 The rest of his team was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the portal.

 

 “Guys?” The question was a plea.

 

 

 Jack, Michael, Gavin, and Geoff were violently thrown backward as they tried to pass through the portal.

 

 “What the hell?!” Michael charged the portal again and this time was thrown so far back he hit some of the rubble from the crashed Cabal ship.

 

 “Boi, you alright?” Gavin hopped over to where Michael had landed.

 

 “No I’m not,” Michael pushed himself up, “Why can’t we pass through?!”

 

 Jack was already in contact with Eris, her news wasn’t good.

 

 “Jack?” Geoff asked seeing Jack’s shoulders sink.

 

 “Apparently only ascendant Hive can pass through. The portal won’t let anything else in. We need to find some way to make it think we’re Hive.” Jack relayed.

 

 “So Ryan…?” Gavin didn’t want to finish the question.

 

 “It counted him as Hive.” Michael crossed his arms, “And now the only guy that could make it think we’re Hive as well is stuck on the other side… Alone and god knows where.”

 

 Eris came through on all their radios, “Go back to the moon. Find Crota’s essence and become ascendant Hive.”

 

 “She doesn’t mean that literally, does she?” Gavin asked the group, “Because I’ve seen some of the things Ryan had done to him in order to become Hive and there is no way in hell I will ever do any of it.”

 

 “We’re going to use Crota’s soul to trick the portal. We won’t actually be Hive.” Geoff looked to Jack to confirm that he had come to the correct conclusion and Jack nodded.

 

 Jack summoned his ghost, “To the moon.”

 

~*~

 Ryan readied his weapon and cautiously moved down the deserted hall. He was silent and remained in the shadows as best he could. Had he been teleported into a room of waiting enemies he would have felt far more comfortable.

 

 The tall chitinous walls carried the growls and moans of Hive monstrosities locked deep within the Dreadnaught. Hanging chains occasionally clinked, and a dull green glow from the dust in the air was all that illuminated the area.

 

 He made his way through a circular room into a long upward sloping hallway. As he walked up the hall, portions of the walls’ supporting pillars lit up with an angry orange glow to light his way.

 

 With a flash of blue-white light a glowing orb appeared in the air at the end of the hallway. Ryan stopped in his tracks and took aim.

 

 The orb didn’t react and continued to shakily hover roughly four feet above the floor. It jittered and shook much like the Taken and its light was very similar to their colouration.

 

 Ryan hesitantly took a step forward and the orb immediately rocketed away from him and into the room beyond.

 

 Worried it was off to sound an alarm, Ryan quickly followed. He exited the hall and found himself on the top landing of a grand double staircase overlooking a bridge. On the far side of the bridge was another multi-tiered staircase leading up to a tall sealed door. The inner edge of the door appeared gilded in gold but was the same chitinous material as everything else on the Dreadnaught.

 

 The glowing orb was hovering at the base of the double staircase right where the bridge began.

 

 Still on high alert, Ryan decided to bypass the stairs and jumped down from the upper landing to the floor below. A Hive sarcophagus before the bridge made excellent cover as Ryan crouched and peeked around to see if the orb had moved once again.

 

 It was still there.

 

  _Bait Star…?_ His worm asked hesitantly. It had been relatively silent since their arrival on the Dreadnaught.

 

 Ryan was about to correct his worm that the orb was clearly no Ghost, but realised that it meant an actual Bait Star and not the little Guardian companions. He was so used to his worm calling his Ghost a Bait Star he’d almost forgotten that they were an actual Hive homeworld creature. The Hive may have long ago left Fundament behind but it seemed the memory of their predator was still strong; even if they as a race had evolved to be far more powerful.

 

 Ryan could sympathise; just because he could wield void magic and had a gun, didn’t mean he was about to go and antagonize a bear.

 

 He left his cover in a crouch and slowly moved forward. The orb reacted by disappearing into thin air which then summoned a dozen Taken onto the bridge and stairs on the far side.

 

 Taken Psions and Taken Hobgoblins teleported in with their customary flash of blue-white light and immediately spotted Ryan.

 

 Ryan quickly dispatched the Taken Hobgoblins and was forced back behind cover as their defensive blasts came homing in on him. The Taken Psions took that as an opportunity to teleport forward and surround him all while dividing into more and more Psions.

 

 He managed to control them for a short bit with a grenade, but the remaining three Taken Psions immediately became six. Six became twelve and Ryan decided to switch to his Hive blade. He charged the center of the group and dispatched all but one that managed to teleport away across the bridge.

 

 The Taken Psion cocked its head and twitched.

 

 “Oh no, you fucking don’t!” Ryan shouted as the single Psion split into two. He pulled out his shotgun and ran toward the Psions.

 

 He managed to kill them with a single blast each.

 

 His worm enjoyed the tribute. Taken were far more powerful than their regular counterparts. Hive grew in strength with each kill, and the more lives their victim had ended the greater was the increase in power. It had been alarming to Ryan when he had found out, so he had refused tribute willingly given to him by other members of the Hive. That left his worm comparatively weak and small, as all it had to feed on were the kills Ryan made himself.

 

 Ryan had done quite a bit of reading about Hive and tribute once he had gained his worm. Apparently tribute didn’t have to come in the form of anything but power, so killing wasn’t necessarily the only way to feed it. Unfortunately, the Hive were a mystical bunch and no one had a straight answer for him as to what alternatives he had. The only reason that killing was used as tribute was due to it being the will of Crota, which in turn, was only because Oryx had commanded it so. Having learned that Oryx had been in power for longer than the Earth had even existed it suddenly made sense why killing was all the Hive did.

 

 On Earth it was difficult enough to end a tradition that had existed for a decade, never mind something that had endured for billions of years – especially if it worked.

 

 The ground beneath him rumbled, and the tall gilded door slid open. Using his warlock jump, Ryan bypassed each flight of stairs until he was right at the door.

 

 The round room on the other side was empty and the frame of a portal stood inactive in the center. Tall rocks dotted the room as if they had grown up out of the floor.

 

 Ryan tiptoed into the room and wasn’t in the least surprised as the door closed behind him. Ensuring he was close to cover, he approached the platform the portal stood on.

 

 There was a sudden blast of air, and Ryan braced himself, as a shadowy bust of Oryx appeared between him and the portal.

 

 The Oryx bust roared at Ryan and then spoke, “You killed my son, sat upon his throne, and played pretend at being something greater. I will crush you like the wormling you are and take you! I have taken entire worlds; you are not worthy to face me!” With another rush of air the bust disappeared and the portal activated.

 

 Ryan readied himself for whatever was about to come through.

 

~*~

 “Any sign of Ryan?” Geoff asked his Ghost.

 Geoff led the charge through the dusty and gloomy halls. Gavin and Michael were close behind with Jack watching their rear.

 “I’m picking up his signal from a chamber up ahead.” Geoff’s Ghost replied.

 They sprinted through an upward slanted hallway and into a cavernous area where they stood at the top of a grand double staircase. There was a bridge that led to a tall door with a gilded edge on the far wall.

 “Is he alive?!” Michael asked.

 “Yes, he’s in bad shape, but he’s alive. He’s somewhere in this chamber.” Geoff’s Ghost informed them all.

 “Define ‘bad shape’!” Gavin shouted.

 “What took you so long?” Ryan’s voice interrupted them. He sounded exhausted.

 “Ryan!” Gavin pulled out his own Ghost and looked around, “Where are you?”

 Ryan inhaled, “Beneath the bridge. I’m hidden in a small alcove. Your Ghost should be able to show you the safe way down.”

 With his Ghost already in his hand Gavin was able to see the otherwise invisible platforms. He immediately jumped from the side of the bridge and down onto the first platform.

 The platform burned itself into existence just as his boots landed on its glossy black surface. Spying another platform further below, Gavin jumped to it next, and was now able to see the alcove Ryan spoke of.

 Two more invisible platforms and Gavin was within the alcove and at Ryan’s side.

 “Bloody hell, Ryan.” Gavin crouched to inspect him.

 Ryan was on the ground and slumped up against the wall in full armour. His primary weapon was in his lap with his hand still ready to pull the trigger.

 “How is he?” Geoff leaned over the edge. He couldn’t see them, but was always wary of those invisible platforms and didn’t want to risk falling to his death.

 “I’m fine. I just need time to recover.” Ryan replied, “The Light lets you guys heal in a matter of seconds, but your bodies can be crushed like a dead leaf. I can’t heal as quickly, but in return I can take a few more hits before I go down. Don’t worry about me.”

 “Like hell we won’t!” Michael said, “And if the next words out of your mouth are ‘leave me behind’ or some shit, then I’m going to drag you behind us by your damn ankles.”

 Jack frowned, “Ryan, what tore you up so bad? Are we safe here?”

 “Yeah, we’re safe, mostly. Maybe at threat of a passing Thrall or Acolyte, but see that gold door?” Ryan began.

 There were affirmations from all of them.

 Ryan continued, “In there is another portal. When I tried to approach, Oryx sent through a Taken Cabal General with his troops. Once I finally got the upper hand, he then sent through a Taken Ogre as well. I managed to get myself back out here before they could take me.”

 “Before they could take you?” Gavin asked quietly.

 “Oh yeah, so Oryx doesn’t just want us dead; he wants us his.” Ryan answered.

 “He wants us as Taken.” Jack clarified.

 “Then we kill him before he has the chance.” Michael crossed his arms.

 “Gavin, you think you can help Ryan out from under there?” Geoff inquired, “It’s our fault it took us so long to get here; we can’t leave him there.”

 “About that; what the hell happened? I jumped through the portal and none of you were there.” Ryan wanted to know.

 “Apparently the portal won’t let anythin’ not Hive pass through. You went in fine, we all got launched backwards.” Gavin informed him and gave Ryan his arm.

 Ryan got himself upright using Gavin to hold some of his weight, “Wait, so how did you finally get through?”

 “We stole Crota’s essence from some sort of funeral the Hive were holding for him. Once we had that we passed through as soon as we could.” Geoff elaborated.

 “Death ceremony.” Jack corrected Geoff.

 “That explains why it took you so long… Who was at the ceremony?” Ryan was led out and guided by Gavin back onto the bridge.

 “All of us.” Geoff replied.

 Ryan chuckled as Gavin let go of him, “No I mean from Crota’s family. I assume if Oryx were there it wouldn’t have been as easy.”

 “Up until just now I wasn’t even aware Crota had a family outside of Oryx.” Geoff told him.

 “No one we should worry about, though?” Jack turned to Ryan.

 “Not if we kill Oryx.” Ryan stated and then explained, “Crota has two sisters – as does Oryx. But if we kill Oryx then we will be understood as being more powerful than him, and since he’s the most powerful of the bunch, they won’t be quick to challenge us after that.”

 “Wait, Oryx has sisters? How is that NOT a problem for us?!” Gavin’s voice was becoming shrill.

 “Ryan literally just explained that.” Michael responded to Gavin.

 “Not what I mean, Michael!” Gavin continued, “What’s to stop ‘im from calling in back up? One Hive god is bad enough; we don’t need to be fighting three!”

 Ryan didn’t know where to start in correcting Gavin, “No. That’s not– that’s not how it works. First of all, just because Oryx is worshipped, it doesn’t make him an actual god. The Hive has actual gods… One of which Oryx has apparently killed.

 As for his sisters; they aren’t the most supportive family and if any of them did show up they would take the first opportunity to kill Oryx and take his fleet. Luckily, I don’t think either of his sisters are currently even alive.”

 Jack cocked his head, “But they’re not dead?” he knew to listen closely to the language Ryan used.

 “Technically, no. Just as Oryx won’t be dead when we kill him here today.” Ryan tried to articulate it.

 “You’re going to have to explain that one.” Michael uncrossed his arms.

 “You can’t just kill ascendant Hive. You have to kill them twice; once in what we would call reality and a second time in a dimension called their ‘throne realm’.” Ryan started.

 “So the place where we killed Crota?” Geoff interrupted.

 “Yes, but no. Each ascendant Hive has a throne realm of their own; basically a dimension that is their will made solid. When we kill Oryx here his soul will be forced back to his throne realm where normally he would await a ritual for his revival. But we’re not going to let that happen, we’re going to go into his realm like we did with Crota and kill him once and for all. Hive killed within their throne realm are dead for good.” Ryan laid out the plan.

 There was a moment of silence as the group took the information in.

 Finally it was Geoff that spoke, “First we need to kill that Taken Cabal and Ogre that kicked your ass, then we can worry about killing Oryx properly.”

 

~*~

 Slightly battered after the battle but still faring far better than Ryan, they all leapt through the second portal.

 This room was also rounded and in a circle around where they landed were haphazardly placed Hive tombs. What made it different was how well-lit it was with white light.

 “We keep moving.” Geoff ordered. He turned to Ryan, “How’re you doing?”

 Ryan was slowly regaining his strength; he stood taller and moved more fluidly, “For the hundredth time, I’m fine.” Killing the Taken Cabal and Ogre had significantly helped.

 Geoff grunted and gestured them forward.

 The hallways grew steadily darker and more overgrown with Hive calcifications. The lighting became greener until they exited out onto a balcony that overlooked a massive drop. The walls fell away into darkness as far as the eye could see both to their left and their right. Directly ahead on the far wall was another balcony, but it was far more ornate and draped with Hive banners. Strange energy flowed up onto its floor like waterfalls in reverse.

 Oryx’s booming voice suddenly filled the area, “Come for me warriors of Light, and finish what Crota began!”

 As his words finished, a bridge of invisible platforms burned themselves into existence and created a path between their balcony and the one beyond.

 “After you, Crota Killer.” Michael looked to Ryan.

 Ryan sighed, but didn’t hesitate. He made his way slowly across the platforms and once he was safely on the other side he waved the rest of them over.

 One by one they carefully navigated the narrow and well-polished pathway, until they were all on the far side. Standing between two large statues they looked into a dark hall beyond that held a third statue larger than the others.

 Jack heard Ryan scoff, “What is it?”

 Ryan shook his head, “We’ve been saying Oryx was on the bridge of the Dreadnaught. He calls the bridge the ‘Altar of Oryx’.”

 “Then let’s murder this egotistical motherfucker.” Geoff stepped into the darkness, walking around the third statue.

 It was pitch black beyond the statue with the exception of a single hovering blue-white orb of light.

 As the whole team gathered in the darkness, the orb moved away and ignited a path on the floor that travelled like a lit fuse up the wall. It illuminated Oryx’s sigil which then split down the middle and opened.

 Oryx roared and absorbed the darkness from around them, pulling the team before him and trapping them in the room with him.

 Taken teleported in to aid their master and fireteam AH quickly made for the nearest cover.

 Oryx laughed as he watched them run.

 “I feel like I can’t breathe!” Michael exclaimed.

 Geoff didn’t even need to breathe and still felt the same, “Ryan, what’s he doing to us?”

 They were all working to clear the floor of Taken so it took a moment before Ryan replied, “He’s performing some sort spell. I don’t know it.”

 “Just shoot him!” Gavin shouted and switched to his sniper rifle. He fired a few precision rounds into Oryx’s head in quick succession.

 It was enough to make Oryx flinch and halt his spell.

 “Whatever you did, Gavin, you stopped what he was doing.” Jack could breathe freely again.

 Ryan threw down a grenade beneath Oryx and looked to his team. The air around them began to shimmer and crackle with heat.

 “MOVE!” Ryan screamed at them.

 They scattered around the room and where they had been standing seconds earlier a great blast of incinerating energy exploded.

 “Keep moving!” Geoff ordered, “He’ll fry us if we stand still, and for the love of god don’t stand too close to each other!”

 Once more Oryx began casting his spell.

 Ryan had no clue what Oryx was doing, but he noticed how his team members’ movements became laboured. Why hadn’t any of them used their supers?

 “Gavin! Use your golden gun!” Ryan saw Gavin was in an excellent position to do so.

 Oryx laughed again and began to fire orbs of energy from his hands at whoever was nearest.

 “I can’t!” Gavin protested.

 Michael made the realization, “He’s draining our Light! Ryan, you’re the only one unaffected!”

 “Fuck! Michael’s right; we’re going to have to switch to our heavy and fire everything we have at him!” Jack confirmed.

 Michael eagerly readied Thunderlord with a wicked grin. He closed the distance between himself and Oryx and began to fire. He called out when he needed to reload, and Jack began to fire rockets at Oryx from the opposite side of the room. By the time Jack needed to reload, Michael was fully loaded once more and already firing while everyone else kept the Taken busy.

 Oryx growled and shrunk away from their assault. With another bellowing roar he extended his arms.

 Suddenly the whole fireteam was next to each other once again. They looked around desperately; they were trapped within a dome made of thick fog.

 Oryx was outside the dome and they could barely make him out. He laughed and summoned a pack of Taken Thrall next to the fireteam, then began to fire orbs of energy at them.

 Michael and Gavin quickly confirmed that they were unable to fire through the fog at Oryx.

 Ryan knew this was bad; they would tire long before Oryx did. The thralls and shots would whittle them down slowly, but in the end they would fall. He had to do something to force Oryx within their little fog barrier.

 “Keep the thralls off me!” Ryan ordered and switched to his sword. He ran to the center of the dome and spun around until he spotted Oryx beyond the fog. The Hive’s black fluid splashed around his feet.

 “What are you-” Jack began to ask.

 Ryan cut him off by switching to the Hive tongue, “ _This is how a king fights? Hiding behind a barrier? You are a greater coward than your pathetic son! I bathed in his ash and I will bathe in yours!”_

 Oryx bellowed in rage, “ _The wormling is bold, but a fool! I will strip the flesh from your bones and feed it to my Thralls!”_ Oryx readied his own blade.

 “I’m going to need all of you to shoot him the second he comes thr–” Ryan told his team but had to lift his own blade in defense as Oryx passed through the fog.

 Oryx had his sword over his shoulder and ready to swing as he approached Ryan.

 The fireteam was firing at Oryx but it did not seem to slow him as he moved towards Ryan with an absolute rage in his eyes.

 With massive strength fueled by hate and anger, Oryx brought his blade down on top of Ryan.

 Ryan brought his blade up into a block.

 The two swords collided and sent a shockwave outwards that threw the rest of fireteam AH onto their backs.

 While Oryx laughed the fireteam regained their footing and began to shoot at Oryx.

 Ryan was nowhere to be seen, and the black pool he had stood in held only his shattered sword.

 “Ryan!” Gavin screamed.

 “Grenades!” Geoff ordered his team.

 Oryx didn’t even have the opportunity to brace himself as the combined power of the team’s Light tore through him.

 Oryx dropped his sword, its point digging in next to the remains of Ryan’s. He staggered in place and looked to the Guardians before him with amusement. He reached out and gathered an electrical essence from his blade.

 This immediately put them all on high alert, and they pointed their weapons at him.

 Oryx laughed and forced the essence into his chest. His body began to disintegrate and dissolve until there was nothing left.

 They didn’t waste time and rushed forward to where Ryan’s sword lay.

 The inky black pool was maybe two inches deep, if that, and they splashed through it to crowd around the shattered blade.

 

 An armoured Hive hand suddenly reached out of the pool causing them to jump back.

 Michael was the first to drop to his knees and grab the hand, “Five fingers! It’s Ryan! Help me pull him out!”

 They dropped their weapons and began to aid Michael. The hand became an arm, the arm became a head and torso, and soon they had Ryan out of the pool and onto dry ground.

 Ryan’s helm was gone and he was coughing up the black liquid. The left shoulder of his armour was split open and his dark grey skin was visible beneath.

 Hacking away, Ryan emptied his lungs with tears in his human eyes. When he finally calmed down he wiped his nose and mouth and flipped himself over onto his back.

 “Did you kill him?” Ryan rasped and closed his eyes.

 “Yeah we did.” Gavin replied quietly.

 Jack was checking Ryan’s pulse, “Are you ok?”

 Ryan smiled and opened all three of his eyes, “Yeah. Just give me a moment.” Oryx’s sword had bit down into his shoulder, hard. If he hadn’t had the restorative pool he would have lost his entire arm for sure. His plan to anger Oryx had worked; Oryx hadn’t even considered that Ryan could use the pool as Hive did.

 Michael pulled Ryan up into a seated position, “You fucking moron.”

 Ryan groaned and put his arm over his stomach. He felt bloated on top of everything else.

 “It fucking worked though.” Geoff admitted even though he was still less than pleased by Ryan’s actions.

 “The fuck did you say to him?” Jack was curious as to what would elicit such a reaction.

 Ryan’s smile became a grin, “Called him a coward and said he was as pathetic as his son.”

 “Shit.” Geoff swore but smiled.

 “But we’re only half way there, aren’t we?” Gavin reminded them of the truth.

 “But now we have time.” Jack added.

 Ryan pushed himself up onto his feet, “I need to return to the moon and recover. Give me two, three days at most. I’ll also need some new armour and possibly another sword.” He huffed in an effort to relieve the pressure in his chest. It felt like he was going to burst, “Then we kill Oryx for good.”

 

 “Jack,” Geoff called his attention, “I’m going to get us a sixth member.” Geoff turned to everyone else, “I’ve been evaluating a few fresh guardians in an effort to replace missing members.”

 Ryan knew he was one of those ‘missing members’.

 Geoff continued, “If we are going to do this we are going in as a full fireteam of six.”

 “One hell of an introduction to the team.” Michael commented, “Our first mission together and it’s a raid.”

 “Yeah, well we don’t exactly have the option to take it slow.” Jack argued.

 “As long as they can hold their own, I don’t care who it is.” Gavin told the group.

 Geoff nodded, “Good.” He looked at Jack, “Get Ryan back to the moon and patched up. The rest of us are heading back to the tower to deliver the good news and pass out.” He summoned his Ghost and readied for transport.

 

~*~

 Fully recovered and eager to end this, they met up on the Dreadnaught once more. Standing around before the Court of Oryx, Ryan, Gavin, and Michael waited on Jack and Geoff to arrive with their newest member.

 Ryan wore a brand new suit of armour fashioned specifically for him by his Hive. Across his back lay his new sword.

 Gavin wore a hood and armour covered in leafy camouflage, which although effective on Earth or Venus, only made him stand out on the Dreadnaught. He toyed with his knife, tossing it repeatedly at a pillar. It would stick itself into the chitin and then Gavin would pull it out and toss it again.

 Michael was sat on top of another pillar in his heavy titan armour watching Gavin without real interest.

 “Hive really have a thing for everythin’ spiky and dark, don’t they?” Gavin mused and gestured at Ryan’s armour.

 Ryan shrugged and waved his hand which appeared clawed due to his armour, “Aesthetic.” He justified.

 That made both Gavin and Michael laugh.

 Three guardians appeared on their radars and they looked towards the doorway that led into their chamber.

 Jack and Geoff entered with a titan.

 Michael immediately perked up at the sight of a fellow titan; he had always been the only one in this team.

 They gathered in a rough circle and Geoff began introductions, “Ryan, Gavin, Michael, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, that’s Ryan, Gavin, and Michael.”

 “Nice armour.” Jeremy said as he shook Ryan’s hand before moving on to Gavin and Michael, “What can I say about myself? Human, titan, Sunbreaker, and eager to kill this Hive bastard.”

 “Oh nice! I’ve been learning the ways of the Sunbreaker myself.” Michael told him.

 

 Geoff immediately went down to business, “Michael, stay Striker for now, but be ready to go Defender. I know you’re not as comfortable with Defender but we’ll be under heavy fire for sure and might need it. Ryan and I will remain Voidwalker, and Jack Sunsinger. Gavin I want you Nightstalker for now. Like Michael, I know it’s not your most comfortable subclass but I have a feeling crowd control is going to be a big problem for us. We good? Everyone full up on ammo?”

 There were nods all around.

 “Good.” Geoff put his hands on his hips, “Alright Ryan, what do we need to do?”

 Ryan proceeded to explain the relics and how they worked with the six statues in the next room.

 

~*~

 With a final screech Ir’Halak joined her sister in death.

 Fireteam AH broke out into celebration; Crota’s sisters were now dead. They had been the last in a long line of Oryx’s commanders. All that remained was to finish off Oryx.

 Ryan broke out into a victorious laughter; he had only grown more eager for the final battle with each fight. He felt invigorated and ready to take on anything that Oryx would throw at him.

 Jeremy looked to Ryan with mild concern and Michael noticed.

 “Don’t worry about him; he’s a little off.” Michael explained, “Like Eris, or Toland. The Hive seems to have that effect on people.”

 “Those comparisons aren’t comforting; Toland was exiled.” Jeremy responded.

 Ryan calmed and seemed to notice the two Titans looking at him, “What?! Now I can’t be happy that we’ve almost done it? We’re so close, I can taste it!”

 Michael whispered over his shoulder to Jeremy, “Ryan is exiled too, by the way.”

 “What? How? Why is he still allowed on your fireteam then?” Jeremy was in the dark.

 “He’s not.” Jack overheard, “But we need him and he needs us. The Vanguard can go fuck themselves.”

 Jeremy gaped beneath his helm. He’d known Fireteam AH to be a nuisance tolerated by the Vanguard solely due to how effective they were, but hadn’t known any details as to why.  He knew that they were the team responsible for killing Aetheon, Crota, and Skolas, and had been honoured to be selected by Geoff, but did not expect them to be so openly against direct orders.

 Maybe he’d have been better off with another team. A team that wouldn’t smear his reputation and put him on everyone’s shit list.

 “Are you guys still talking about me?” Ryan noticed the trio.

 Michael waved Ryan’s concern away, “Nah, Jeremy’s new, remember? He has no clue as to your whole Hive thing.”

 “He could ask me.” Ryan approached them, “And that’s still totally talking about me.” He argued.

 Jeremy apologised, “Sorry, I didn’t know you were exiled, so I asked about it.”

 Ryan turned to Michael, “What have you been telling him? He’s scared of me!”

 Michael shrugged, “I haven’t even told him about the three eyed thing, either.”

 Ryan snorted, shook his head, and walked away towards Geoff.

 Jeremy looked at Michael questioningly.

 “Oh yeah, full on Eris Morn up there.” Michael laughed.

 

 Geoff was looking out at the starry vista before them. Feeling Ryan approach he asked, “So where’s Oryx?”

 Ryan pointed at a floating orb that vibrated erratically almost at the very edge of the chamber, “If we near that, it will flee and call forth Oryx.”

 “And then what?” Geoff turned to him.

 Ryan was confused, “Then we fight Oryx and end this.”

 “And _then_ what?” Geoff insisted.

 “What do you mean?” Ryan was at a loss.

 “What happens to you? To the Hive? We all saw what happened when Crota fell. Don’t play stupid; what’s your end goal here? To rule the whole Hive?” Geoff had been giving it thought for a while.

 “If I have to – to ensure they stop their assault – I will.” Ryan replied.

 “’If I have to’?” Geoff repeated Ryan’s words, “I think you want to.”

 “This really isn’t the time for this, Geoff.” Ryan protested.

 “I disagree.” Geoff stated, “Because once you assume command of Oryx’s fleet, you’ll never give it up.”

 Ryan was irritated by Geoff’s words, “And if I do want to rule, why is that a bad thing?! You rather the Hive become like the Fallen?”

 Geoff sighed deeply, “You’re filled with darkness Ryan. I can see it. It’s sunk its claws into you and is waiting for the first opportunity to devour you. What happens when it does? And if you just so happen to have Oryx’s army behind you…?”

 “You sound like the Speaker.” Ryan snarled, and then softened his tone, “Don’t you trust me?”

 Geoff shook his head, “If only you could hear yourself.”

 “You _need_ me. If we don’t kill Oryx then we’re all dead!” Ryan argued.

 “I know.” Geoff turned and with a final pat on Ryan’s shoulder he left back towards the rest of the fireteam.

 Ryan was left silently fuming.

  _They are turning on you. They fear you._ His worm whispered.

 “ _You silence yourself, before I do it for you!”_ Ryan snapped in Hive at his worm. He looked towards Geoff and the rest of his team. Why were they incapable of trusting him?

 “Ryan, get over here. We need to discuss how we’re gonna tackle Oryx.” Geoff ordered him over as if their conversation had never happened.

 Ryan begrudgingly rejoined the group.

 “What can you tell us about what we’re about to face?” Geoff asked Ryan.

 

 Ryan crossed his arms. He was full of vinegar, but knew that this was not the time to cause trouble, “Oryx won’t be nearly as much of a push over in his own realm as he was last time we fought. I can’t say exactly what he’ll do but based on what has happened so far I can make a few educated guesses.”

 “Like what?” Gavin prompted him for more information.

 “First, just as how the sword was key to Crota’s defeat in his realm, it looks like the relic will be key to Oryx’s defeat in this realm. It’s proven itself to be a breaker of barriers, so we’ll want it on hand to take down any shield he creates– Just like how we did with the sisters. Second – and I can’t be sure of this one – when we last fought Oryx he drained your Light from you, so he’s likely going to use it against you now.” Ryan informed them.

 “Use it against us how?” Jack asked.

 Ryan shrugged, “I don’t know, but whatever it will be, it will be heavily corrupted. Just remember the Light was yours to begin with, and no matter how corrupted it turns out to be, you should be able to channel your own Light.”

 “Meaning?” Gavin cocked his head.

  “You are your Light’s master, not Oryx. Even the most corrupted Light can be convinced to burn away the Darkness; that’s just it’s nature.” Geoff explained.

 “Which means I’ll have to cover all of you while that’s going on. Jeremy might also be able to help keep the heat off you as well; he wasn’t with us when we first fought Oryx, so Oryx won’t have his Light.” Ryan looked to Jeremy, “Unless, you’ve had a run in with Oryx before?”

 Jeremy shook his head, “This will be my first time meeting the bastard.”

 “That’s good at least.” Michael nodded.

 “Fair warning; here within his realm, Oryx will be at his most powerful. I have little doubt that even one hit from him will have you awaiting resurrection.” Ryan added.

 “That won’t be any different than Crota, then.” Michael commented.

 “Anything else?” Geoff asked Ryan, his tone had slight accusation to it.

 Ryan shrugged again, “I’m sure there is, but I don’t know it.” He narrowed his eyes at Geoff beneath his helm; Geoff needed to step off.

 Gavin seemed to pick up on the tension. He walked between the two of them towards the hovering orb eager to get started before an argument broke out, “Then let me do the honours.”

 

With a quick jump he closed the gap between himself and the orb.

 As expected, the orb fled by shooting down off the edge of the room.

 

 Oryx’s roar reverberated through the area.

 “Brace yourselves!” Jack needlessly advised them as a massive three fingered carapace covered hand grabbed the edge of their chamber.

 Thralls and Taken Knights spawned in.

 “DIE!” Oryx bellowed. He swung himself over to the right side of the chamber and slammed his fist down on an altar.

 An orb crackling with white electrical energy appeared high in the air and Oryx was filled with Taken power. He rained blue-white fire down on them.

 “The relic!” Gavin spotted the orb.

 “I’m on it!” Ryan jumped up onto an altar and became torn between dimensions. He appeared to become no more than a shadow as his very being teetered between existing and not. It was an uncomfortable state, but it was the only state in which the relic could be handled.

 

 The rest of the team knew the drill after facing Oryx’s daughters. Michael, Geoff, and Gavin used their bodies to sequentially activate three of the four altars within the chamber. They jumped up onto each altar while Ryan’s shadowy form leapt from platform to platform above them. Below them, Jeremy kept the Taken under control and too busy to fire at anyone but him.

 

“Ogre!” Gavin called out as the lumbering beast pulled itself out of a black pool next to his altar.

They focused fire and managed to kill it. From its crumbling remains a darkness corrupted ball of light emerged.

There was no time to contemplate the orb as a second ogre emerged next to Geoff.

“A second one!” Geoff hollered.

In seconds a third crawled out of the liquid next to the altar Jack was standing on.

And then a fourth pulled itself free next to the unoccupied altar.

It became chaos.

 

Ryan claimed the relic as a tombship warped in. It dropped three Hive squadrons that immediately began to attack.

Gavin was the first to fall. He had turned to face the fresh troops, but there was a Knight with a large barrier around him. Hive within the barrier became immune to all forms of damage, and Gavin’s fire did nothing to stop them.

 

Ryan smashed the relic into the Knight’s barrier, and with a bright flash, the barrier became his.

“To me!” Ryan ordered. If the barrier worked for the Knight, it would work for him.

Jack finished off the fourth ogre and ran towards Ryan with the rest of the fireteam.

Oryx slammed his fist down on the altar in frustration. They had figured out his rules.

But now he would change them. He extended his arms and summoned forth the Taken energy from within himself. His chest burned with furious energy.

“We need to stop whatever he’s doing! Shoot him!” Geoff shouted.

Their combined firepower was enough to make Oryx flinch and fumble his spell.

“Reclaim and channel your corrupted Light!” Ryan saw this as the perfect opportunity to strike back.

He and Jeremy remained in the protective barrier firing at Taken to make the way safer for Michael, Geoff, and Jack.

Jack diverted to quickly revive Gavin, so that they could take an orb each.

The four of them sprinted over and each took position at one of the four orbs of corrupted Light left by the ogres.

Geoff could feel the Light begin to remember that its true enemy was the Darkness. It was raw, wild, and angry. The light began to uncoil and prepared to lash out.

Geoff was worried that it would strike at what was closest, “Back into the barrier! Hurry!”

 

They rushed back and all but Jack made it within the barrier as the corrupted Light exploded.

Jack was downed instantly. His ghost hovered a mere few feet from the edge of the barrier.

They all fired at Oryx, and Oryx growled in pain.

“Jack wants to know if he should self-revive.” Jack’s ghost informed them.

The barrier emanating from Ryan suddenly dissipated.

Startled by this development, they all looked around. Oryx was back at the front of the chamber and backing away. He extended his arms once more.

“Jack, stay down. I’ll circle back and get you–” Ryan replied to Jack’s ghost.

Michael spotted the first magical mortar blast headed their way, “RUUUUUN!” He bellowed.

Heads snapped upward, and they all immediately scattered.

 

The mortars rained down on them, landing where they had been mere fractions of a second earlier. They couldn’t risk stopping or slowing their run as more and more of the mortars fell.

Jeremy sprinted around the side of an altar. His boots tore up the Hive growths covering the floor as he took the turn.

Gavin raced around the same altar, heading in the opposite direction.

It was too late to save themselves from the mistake. As they crossed paths the mortars that had been meant for the other struck them both.

When the burning white light faded their two ghosts were all that remained.

Floating next to each other the ghosts exchanged a look before both announcing, “Guardian down.”

 

~*~

“You shall not defeat me!” Oryx declared and returned to the front of the chamber. His backdrop was Saturn and its rings, while the cosmos beyond watched on.

This was his final stand, and they all knew it.

With significant effort, Oryx extended his arms and gathered forth what remained of his power. His chest and hands began to once more burn with Taken energy.

“Kill him!” Geoff screamed and his voice cracked, “Finish him!” with a heave he lifted his rifle and opened fire.

 

Half of Fireteam AH was spitting up blood by this point. The armour on Gavin’s left arm had been torn open and was a mess of blood and black mud. Jeremy’s breath was a hoarse rasp and he was sure at least one of his ribs was broken. Jack was on his knees out of exhaustion and pain. Michael was seeing double and there was a loud pounding in his head. Ryan was barely standing upright and appeared as if his legs were ready to fail him.

 

Yet they all raised their weapons at Geoff’s call.

That was the end of Oryx.

The team cried out in victory and exhaustion as Oryx’s corpse slowly drifted off towards Saturn. All his power, his life, and all the lives he had taken, were gone.

 

Or so they thought.

 

Oryx was gone, but there was another who was willing to take up the mantle of the Taken King.

Ryan’s cry became one of agony which was quickly silenced.

The team turned to find him on his back convulsing on the ground. Forgetting about their own injuries they all rushed forward to his aid.

“RYAN!” Gavin screamed and fell to his knees at Ryan’s side. He didn’t know what to do and held his hands helplessly to his chest as he looked to Jack and Geoff.

Geoff was quick to act. He pulled out Ryan’s arm and rolled the Awoken onto his side, “Jack, give me a hand here.” He pushed Gavin back so that they would have room to manoeuvre.

Jack appeared to snap out of a trance at Geoff’s words and immediately came to his side as Ryan began coughing.

“Get his helmet off. If he’s puking we don’t want him to suffocate.” Geoff ordered in an authoritative state of calm.

Jack managed to pull off Ryan’s helm. Geoff had made a good call; black goo poured out and Ryan was only coughing up more. Ryan also had some blood across one side of his face that must have come from a battle wound.

 

 Geoff was relieved that Ryan’s blood was red.

 

Ryan’s eyes were closed and it was clear he was out cold as the convulsions shook his body. They were starting to slow, but each round forced more of the vile liquid from him. The liquid was denser than water and close to blood in consistency, so it clearly wasn’t the same stuff the Hive bathed in.

“Shit, shit, shit.” Jack muttered in quick succession. He removed his own helm and brought his ear down to Ryan’s face, “Geoff, he’s stopped breathing.” Pale faced but calm, he straightened, “We need to get this armour off of him. My ghost can’t get a clear reading with it on him, it’s too organic in composition.”

Geoff gave a curt nod and the two of them immediately set about attempting to remove the armour. Their fingers could find no latches, buttons, locks, or hinges, and time was running out.

Seeing their fumbling, it was Michael who pushed his way in with his survival blade in hand. Ryan’s armour was segmented and jointed like an actual exoskeleton, and Michael’s blade found purchase in a join in the armpit.

Gavin was quick to follow his lead and pulled out his own knife to begin working on Ryan’s other side. His knife was meant for battle so it was sharper and made quicker work than Michael’s.

“He’s Awoken; we don’t need much oxygen…” Gavin’s voice trembled as he tried to assure both himself and his team.

Cutting through was unsettling, as it felt very much like tearing through living connective tissues. Gavin wouldn’t be at all surprised if the armor actually was alive; the Hive favoured the organic over mineral.

Peeling each segment of the armour back, more and more of Ryan’s grey chest was revealed. Hive scarification covered his skin in jagged lines, and Gavin was vividly reminded of the horrific ritual he had witnessed so long ago.

Michael pried off the final piece and Jack’s Ghost materialized above Ryan. It gave him a quick scan. Ryan’s own Ghost was hovering by Ryan’s face, but was silent. It appeared to be watching Ryan with concern and curiosity.

“What’s going on?” Geoff asked Jack’s Ghost.

Jack removed his gauntlets. He put a finger on Ryan’s neck, “Heart’s still beating. Erratic, but still strong.”

Frustrated at the lack of information, Geoff ordered his own Ghost to perform a scan.

“It’s a parasite.” Jack’s Ghost informed them, as Geoff’s continued to scan, “Hive in origin. It’s grown so large it has displaced many of the organs within his chest cavity. Stomach, upper intestines, most of the liver. I don’t know how he’s even lived this long.”

Geoff’s Ghost shook its optic in disagreement, “This was a sudden growth: tumour-like but far more rapid. His innards were violently crushed just recently. He only lives because the parasite would die with him. Yet it was the parasite’s growth that put him in this state.”

 

With a violent gasp Ryan started breathing again. The last of the tremors finally left his body.

The team jumped but after a quick shake in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness failed, they continued to try and piece the situation together.

“His memory may be affected but there is no brain damage. His heartbeat is also becoming rhythmic once more.” Jack’s ghost updated them.

“So what? It just suddenly appeared?” Jeremy brought back the conversation.

“He likely had the parasite in his body already. He spent so much time among the Hive, he probably caught something of theirs. It must have been dormant until the fight… something made it grow.” Jack hypothesized.

“Do you think Oryx was hoping it would kill him?” Michael proposed, “Maybe it was sabotage?”

That thought silenced them for a moment.

Jeremy’s Ghost joined Jack’s and Geoff’s. It flew close to Ryan’s unresponsive Ghost, “You know what is occurring, don’t you?” It accused, “You raised no alarm, and did not attempt to evacuate your guardian.”

That got the attention of Ryan’s Ghost. It looked at Jeremy’s and narrowed its optic, “My guardian is not in danger.” it was offended by the implication that it did not care for Ryan’s well-being.

“Not in danger?! You’re right; he’s doing great all limp and playing dead!” Gavin raised his voice, “He dropped into some sort of seizure and stopped breathing! I very much define that as a dangerous situation to be in!”

Ryan’s Ghost flew up eye level with Gavin. It stared at him through its cracked lens, “This is a complicated situation. I do not expect you to understand.”

Gavin’s own Ghost materialized and forced Ryan’s back with an angry stare.

“The parasite has taken the duties of the organs it destroyed… or it appears to be attempting to do so.” Jack’s Ghost further examined Ryan.

Ryan’s Ghost returned to his side.

“Fuck.” Michael swore. He removed his helm and stood back to run his fingers through his hair, “We can’t take him to the Tower for medical attention either… or the city.”

 Geoff’s Ghost flew up back to Geoff, “It can’t be removed; not without killing him. He’s only alive because it needs him to be.”

 

 Ryan broke into a violent coughing fit and further vomiting. This new round of illness brought his consciousness with it. He groaned after the fit and rolled himself onto his back with his eyes closed.

 "Ryan!“ was exclaimed by each of them and they crowded in on him again.

 "Come on buddy, wake up.” Jack urged Ryan.

 Ryan exhaled something that wasn’t quite solid enough to be words.

 Geoff leaned in close to his face, “We can’t understand you, try and speak up, if you can. Are you ok?”

 Ryan’s three eyes opened slightly before closing again, “…Hurts” He managed and lifted one of his still gauntleted arms up onto his abdomen. His worm was still screaming in agony… or maybe that was just the pain in his own head.

“It’s going to be ok, alright? Just relax.” Jack comforted him.

Ryan appeared to try and reply. His lips moved but there was no sound. His mouth and chin were covered with the black he had been choking up.

He opened his eyes half way and looked at his team gathered around him. His lips curved into one of his half smiles.

“What? What’s so funny?” Geoff asked, but was relieved that Ryan was responsive. As relieved as he could be; he could only watch his friend in hidden horror. Horror not at the parasite (although that would have made him puke if he could) but at how the Darkness was now entirely within Ryan.

 

Ryan was a void, a swirling vortex of darkness that was reaching out towards all of them. It coiled around them and tried to pull them closer; drawing them in. Oryx’s darkness had been confined, controlled, and had not reached out from him unless it was performing his will. Ryan’s darkness was different. It was wild, raw, and all encompassing. Ryan may have been its source, but it was not limited to his body. For lack of a better comparison, Geoff could only think it as a cloud or fog that was most dense with Ryan at its center, but its outer boundary was almost impossible to make out. It kept shifting and branching, sometimes reaching out and other times recoiling back as if it had found something it didn’t like.

 

Ryan found his voice again, “Little light…” He chuckled and then groaned in pain.

“He’s bloody delirious.” Gavin threw up his good arm.

Jeremy leaned in “Stay away from the light at the end of the tunnel!”

Ryan snorted and smiled at that joke.

“How are you doing?” Jack inquired, it appeared like Ryan was recovering.

“I’ve been better.” Ryan replied. His voice was almost at a normal volume now.

“You think you can move? We can’t stay here.” Geoff was worried what would occur if any Hive happened upon them. In his mind there were two possible outcomes: one, they would have a fight on their hands and have to protect Ryan, or two, the Hive would take Ryan away from them and make him their new leader. Geoff liked neither option.

“Yeah.” Ryan grumbled. With the aid of Jack and Michael he got up into a sitting position. Pain shot through his gut and all through his back and spine. Without the chest portion the back of his armour remained on the ground where he had lay.

Seeing Ryan’s grimace, Jack and Michael didn’t attempt to lift him further.

Gavin moved around them to give them room. That let him see Ryan’s back.

“Oh bloody hell, that doesn’t look good at all.” Gavin observed and looked to everyone else. He gestured at Ryan’s back when they looked at him questioningly.

Michael gave a sharp hissing intake of breath when he saw.

 

On either side of Ryan’s spine his shoulders to about midway down his back were bulging outwards a significant amount. The skin was red and stretched so thin it was translucent. It looked ready to split open at any moment and beneath was something dark in colour.

“My back?” Ryan asked, “It really hurts.” He tried to turn his head to look but it hurt too much, “But so does everything.”

All the ghosts, including Ryan’s, flocked to scan his back.

“The masses are organic and contain bone, muscle, and nervous tissues. The bio signature is a mixture of both Ryan’s and the parasite’s and seem to be in a state of accelerated growth.” Jack’s Ghost was the first to speak.

“Parasite?” As Ryan said the word he realized they meant his worm. His secret was out. How could he possibly explain?

Thinking of his worm, he noticed that it was in a state of pain and absolute exhaustion. Whereas Ryan’s pain was clearly due to injury, his worm’s felt more like the ache of extreme exertion.

 

“You have some sort of Hive tumour.” Michael explained in short.

“No. No it’s not–” Ryan leaned forward so he could use his arms to aid him in his attempt to stand.

It was a mistake to do so.

His upper back tore open. Jack and Michael who were nearest were pushed backwards away from him by something solid and charcoal grey.

They jumped to their feet and tried to make sense of what they were seeing.

Ryan was hidden beneath a leathery blanket that was unfolding and growing in size. Beneath its surface, bones straightened and joined together like tent poles, giving shape to the structure. There was two of these structures, each beginning below a shoulder on either side of Ryan’s spine.

 

They were wings. Massive, dark, and unnatural wings.

 

And unlike those that Oryx had wielded, these wings were new and fresh. They had no scars; no tattered edges or tears.

 

Ryan’s brain was tying itself into knots attempting to process the massive amounts of new sensory information. It felt like his arms were bent at uncomfortable angles, yet he could see his hands on the ground before him, holding up his weight. He had a moment of realization that no, it was his _other_ arms that were uncomfortable. So he moved them and saw his wings shift position. Most of all he _felt_ them do so; he felt the jagged ground rub against their skin – his skin – and felt their weight both in movement and in his shoulders.

Using both his wings and arms, he pushed himself upright and onto his feet. It was difficult to know which limb was which without actively watching what moved when he consciously told it to do so. The wings felt just like a second set of arms; the same joints and even fingers, they were just larger and more ungainly.

Standing straight, he held his wings as he did his arms; hanging at his side. He had to shift them into a tolerable position and settled on one where he had the knuckles of each wing resting on the ground. It kept a slight bend in each elbow and let the fingers lie on the ground out behind him. The thumbs were each topped with a claw and had no membrane, so they were used to hold most of the weight of each wing instead of it being all on the knuckles.

 

Fireteam AH had distanced itself from Ryan and looked at him in a stunned wordless state.

Ryan didn’t know what to say, or where to even begin with an explanation, so he meekly finished his sentence from before, “It’s not a parasite.”

 

Geoff was having difficulty looking directly at Ryan. Ryan’s Darkness was so intense that even looking towards him made Geoff feel as if he were being pulled into its depths. It was a sensation of vertigo, where Geoff feared he would lose his direction and fall. He tried to settle on looking just off to the side of Ryan, and hoped it wasn’t something noticeable.

Ryan looked at Geoff and had to squint. It hurt to look at his friend; much like looking into the sun. His Light was so intense, Ryan wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. The rest of the team’s Light shone too, but they were candles next to a road flare.

Ryan was curious why he’d never realized how fragile they all were. Geoff was an exception, but the others could so easily be snuffed out. They had to be protected, sheltered, and cared for, or they would be extinguished. Was this why the Traveller remained? To tend to these flames?

 

Well it was doing a terrible job.

 

“You better start talking, Ryan.” Geoff angrily ordered.

Ryan gazed out at Oryx’s slowly tumbling corpse. The wings had been a surprise; what would happen to him when he actually took Oryx’s power? What he had now was merely tribute – massive unmatched tribute, yes – but what had made Oryx the Taken King had been his tablets. Those were the source of true power.

 

He turned back to his team, avoiding looking directly at Geoff, “I have a Hive worm. I’ve had it for a while now… since the House of Wolves revolt.”

“The symbiote that makes Hive immortal.” Jack said so that it was clear.

“Yeah… It’s complicated.” Ryan shrugged and all four of his shoulders made the motion.

“We have the fucking time.” Geoff retorted.

“Well, what do you want me to say?” Ryan argued, “It’s obvious what I’ve done, and you’re not going to approve of it regardless!”

“I can’t believe it. You have one of those things inside you– I mean how can we ever trust you to be you?!” Michael jabbed his finger towards Ryan, and the headache that had been fading returned with full force. He was angry, and the pain was only going to fuel him further, “You helped us kill Oryx so you could take his fucking place!”

“I helped you kill Oryx to protect the Earth and all of life along with it! The same reason any of you did!” Ryan shouted back at him, “I’m not suddenly Oryx now that he’s gone! I’m still me! I’m still Ryan!”

Jeremy stepped forward, “No you’re not. You’re Rynwuld.” He saw Ryan’s confusion at him knowing the name, “Yeah I know that name; the whole Vanguard knows it. I just now know it’s you.”

“You want to call me by another name? Fine! I’m still me regardless of what damn sounds you make to catch my attention!” Ryan responded angrily.

“Then you’ve changed who you are.” Gavin spoke up, “You’re no longer the same Awoken Warlock we accepted onto our team.”

“And neither are you! Neither is Geoff, or Jack, or Michael!” Ryan knew that Gavin had a point but wasn’t going to let it stand unchallenged.

“The Darkness has consumed you, Ryan. So much that I can’t even look at you directly. Explain how that isn’t a bad thing, why we shouldn’t be concerned?!” Geoff threw at Ryan.

“Look; concern I would understand. This is not concern; this is being dogmatic and irrational! Power is power regardless of the source; the only thing that matters is how it’s used!” Ryan declared.

“And how will you use this power?” Jack was stone faced as he asked, “Because let’s be honest; you _will_ use it. Don’t try and pretend otherwise.”

Ryan hadn’t expected such a question. He had expected argument. If Jack was willing to listen to him – to believe him – maybe he could still salvage it all. He could prove to them he wasn’t the enemy and that he wasn’t insane. The Hive had not claimed him; he had claimed the Hive.

 

“Well?” Jack urged when he noticed Ryan’s pause.

“To protect us.” Ryan felt that best summarised his intentions.

Geoff wasn’t sure whether Ryan’s genuineness should comfort or worry him, but it seemed to do the latter.

 

Ryan took the silence as permission to continue, “The Sol system has been nothing but a punching bag for every passing species. We need a shield; a way to protect ourselves instead of just hoping for survival.

As individuals we may survive, but as a civilization we are already dead. Every man, woman, and child shouldn’t have to be a warrior in order to live. We shouldn’t have to cower and hide on the very soil that birthed us, beneath the light of the star that nurtured us.

We need peace, and it requires us to unite. Human, Awoken, Exo, Hive, Fallen, hell, even Cabal! Divided we are weak and only destroy ourselves further. Just imagine the possibilities if we were one united front! One civilization without fear, without hate, all cooperating to better our lives! That’s all any species wants; an existence without fear of annihilation.” Ryan made his passionate plea and every gesture made by his hands was mimicked in his wings.

 

“And you’re the guy who’s gonna do that, huh?” Michael crossed his arms.

“I have the power to try; so I will.” Ryan retaliated, then posed his own questions, “What was the plan after Oryx’s death? What were the Vanguard aiming to do? Destroy the Hive? Slowly hunt them down until none remained? Don’t they have as much right to exist as any of us? Don’t the Fallen? If we followed the Vanguard’s logic to its conclusion wouldn’t humanity just take the Hive’s place as a race destroying all others?”

“We aren’t the ones invading another system!” Gavin pointed out, “The Hive, the Fallen, the Vex, the Cabal – they all came here to kill us! You can’t suddenly hope to change the only reason they’re all here.”

“I managed to pacify the Hive, didn’t I?” Ryan rebuked, “Why wouldn’t the same be possible with the Fallen? Maybe not by–”

“The Fallen?!” Gavin cut him off and stomped forward, “We had peace with the Fallen at the Reef. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how that turned out! Or are you implying that you’re better than the Queen?!”

Ryan knew better than to respond to that. To him it was fact that he was more powerful than the Queen had ever been, but Gavin would not take to such a declaration kindly.

 

Jack scratched his beard, “Ryan, you have to know that what you’re going to try and do is impossible, and unless the plan is to create a mindless, will-less army of Taken, you will never have this utopia.”

“I don’t plan to create a utopia, Jack. I know it is unrealistic. But I can get us pretty damn close, even if it’s just Hive and Humanity we will still be better off than alone!” Ryan tried to explain, “I don’t understand why you are all so opposed to me simply trying.”

“Because both power and Darkness corrupt, Ryan. If you aren’t insane, then you will be soon enough.” Geoff was quick to reply.

“I’m not insane!” Ryan protested and extended his arms. His wings opened to their full span, and the team stepped back in surprise. Each wing was almost twice as long as Ryan was tall.

Ryan looked to either side, saw his wings, and quickly dropped them back down. Embarrassed, he mumbled some apology about not yet knowing how to control them.

 

Geoff approached Ryan and put his hand on his shoulder. He fought every urge to look away, back away, run away, and instead stared Ryan in the eye, “Many Guardians have fallen to the Darkness. You will be no different. You’re my friend, and I don’t want to watch you fall.”

 

Ryan did his best not to shy away and met Geoff’s gaze, he spoke so that only Geoff could hear him, “Many Guardians have been consumed by the Light. You will be no different. You’re my friend and I don’t want to watch you burn.” He mirrored Geoff’s warning.

 

Geoff removed his hand from Ryan’s shoulder. He shook his head slowly and with a sad look he turned away.

 

Ryan suddenly felt angry; Geoff was giving up on him, wasn’t he? Who did he think he was? What did he think he was? Ryan’s anger began to boil. Did years of friendship mean nothing to Geoff? The years they had spent fighting side by side; saving each other’s lives more times than they could count?

His expression became one of cold rage. To think Geoff was just going to walk away. So much for trust; they’d never trusted him, had they? None of them. It had been all fine and dandy while he had followed orders, but now that he was liberated, he was suddenly the enemy. He meant nothing to them.

He watched Geoff’s back as he walked away, “So this is how it is?” He spoke calmly, his voice controlled, “You’re just going to abandon me? I’m the enemy now? Just like that?”

 

Geoff stopped.

 

Ryan scoffed, “Fine. I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”

 

“Ryan, please…” Jack didn’t have the energy to argue further. It wasn’t about what Ryan wanted to achieve, it was about what would happen if he failed.

 

Ryan extended his hand out towards Oryx’s body. There was a split second where nothing happened and then suddenly the corpse shattered and imploded into bright white Taken energy. The remains were incinerated and the ball of Taken fire came towards them all. Reaching them it split into several orbs, each wreathed in white flame but darker than the abyss within their core. These orbs came to Ryan as if being called, and their shape became more solid.

Tablets covered in fiery runes encircled Ryan. They had chosen a new master.

Ryan closed his eyes and felt their presence. The knowledge of the Deep was his, and he would command it.

He opened his eyes and they were no longer green. Instead they burned a bright cyan, and Ryan could see the truth of the universe.

He knew its shape.

And he would carve it to fit his will.

 

With a flash of Taken light, Ryan disappeared.


End file.
